New Hampshire's House Republicans are embroiled in a four-way battle for the speakership after maintaining control of the chamber for another term.

Speaker Shawn Jasper is facing challenges from Reps. Laurie Sanborn of Bedford and Carol McGuire of Epsom, as well as Frank Sapareto of Derry, a returning lawmaker. The competition reflects some dissatisfaction among Republicans over Jasper's leadership style and policy initiatives.

Newly elected members of the New Hampshire House can begin filing legislation.

All 400 members of the House are allowed to file legislation beginning on Monday. Frequently more than 500 bills are filed each year. Each bill also gets a hearing a full vote on the floor.

Returning lawmakers have already begun submitting bills. Among them are annual proposals to raise the minimum wage and expanding gun background checks, both of which will fail under the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The golden dome atop the New Hampshire State House is glistening once again.

Workers have begun to dismantle the scaffolding around the dome on the Civil War-era State House. The $1 million project started in March and is expected to be completed by Dec. 1. The work has involved meticulously laying five pounds of gold leaf in 4-inch squares on the dome and its golden eagle.

Advocates, first responders, and local and federal lawmakers say the state has made great strides in combating an opioid crisis, but much more still needs to be done. At two press conferences in Concord Tuesday, the focus was on efforts at the state and federal levels both past and future.

House and Senate lawmakers are kicking off a busy week of negotiations on issues ranging from regulating police body cameras to banning the practice of gay conversion therapy on minors.

As the session winds to close, the two chambers must find common ground on bills they've both passed, but with different details. The negotiating teams are known as committees of conference. If agreement isn't reached, the bills will die in committee.

With the state’s budget stalemate now in its second month, the impacts of the current stopgap spending plan are starting to come into view. But because it’s been a dozen years since the state last found itself in this situation, navigating these budgetary waters is proving a challenge -- both for state agencies and for those who rely on their services.

Governor Maggie Hassan’s veto of the Republican-backed state budget bill has dominated State House news in recent weeks. But Hassan’s veto pen has seen plenty of non-budget action this session, as well.

As of Wednesday, New Hampshire is now living under a six-month temporary state spending plan based on the last budget’s funding levels.

That means some agencies that were guaranteed increased funding in the 2016-2017 budget plan will be in flux until a new plan is crafted. That includes additional money for substance abuse treatment, a 10-bed crisis unit at New Hampshire Hospital and increased funds for winter road maintenance.

A plan to open the New Hampshire State House to the public on weekends has the green light from a key Senate committee.

The plan calls for the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce to begin a program next summer to keep the State House open for guided tours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday between Memorial Day and Columbus Day.

Lawmakers will debate fetal homicide laws, restrictions on synthetic drugs and more in this week's upcoming sessions.

The Republican majority in the House is likely to amend a Senate version of fetal homicide legislation. The bill would allow for criminal charges to be brought in the death of fetuses beyond eight weeks of gestation. It says criminal charges cannot be brought against a woman or a doctor in cases of abortion. Advocates for the bill say it's necessary for women who lose their pregnancies as a result of criminal acts such as assault or car accidents.

The House Ways and Means committee has narrowly voted to recommend passage of a bill to authorize casinos in New Hampshire.

Before the 11 to 10 vote, committee members exchanged arguments familiar to anyone who’s followed casino debates in the past. Backers like Republican Gary Azarian of Salem said that, in addition to boosting jobs and economic growth, casinos would give the state revenue to fund its priorities without increasing taxes or fees.

A state Senate committee has recommended passage of a gas tax increase in New Hampshire.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted 4-1 Tuesday in favor of the increase.

The 18 cent tax would rise about 4 cents per gallon in July under the bill. It has not been increased since 1991 and is the lowest in New England. That increase is projected to raise $32 million annually for road improvements and the Department of Transportation.

The New Hampshire House has passed a drug testing bill inspired by the hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital.

The bill, approved 289 to 48 by the House on Wednesday, would require hospitals to set up policies to prevent misuse of drugs by employees to maintain their licenses. It would also require they test employees for drugs if there was a reasonable suspicion of drug use.

New Hampshire's House has given its preliminary OK to giving negligent hikers a chance to buy a hike safe card that forgives rescue expenses they'd otherwise owe the state.

Under current law the Fish and Game Department can seek reimbursement for its rescue costs if a person acts negligently and then needs rescuing. Those costs can run from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

The debate over the minimum wage will return to the state house this session. A proposal to reestablish a state minimum wage failed last year in the Republican-controlled state Senate. This session, Democrats hope to set a state minimum wage at $8.25 an hour.

NHPR's Senior Political Reporter Josh Rogers joins Morning Edition host Rick Ganley to talk about the state's $76 million surplus and what it means for Governor Maggie Hassan politically. Rogers also touches on the government shutdown and the reactions among members of New Hampshire's Congressional delegation.

On the Political Front this morning, NHPR's Josh Rogers talks with Morning Edition host Rick Ganley about the state of Medicaid expansion in New Hampshire and how the race is shaping up in the 1st Congressional District.

It was six months of battles, bargains and balancing. Debates on medical marijuana, voter ID, and taxes all took center stage. A proposed casino was nixed, and after months of number crunching, a biennial budget was built, and all of this done under the watchful eye of a new governor. We’ll look back at some of the biggest political debates of 2013.

The budget still needs approval from the full legislature, but leaders in the House and Senate, as well as Governor Maggie Hassan, agree the proposal meets many shared goals.

NHPR's Josh Rogers tells All Things Considered host Brady Carlson about the negotiation process, what's in the final budget deal and its chances when it goes before the full House and Senate next week.

A Thursday deadline is looming for House and Senate lawmakers to come to an agreement on the next two-year state budget. NHPR's Josh Rogers gets us caught up on the state of the negotiations, and what chance there is of Medicaid expansion being wrapped into the final deal.

It's committee season at the State House, as the legislative year nears its end. In the next couple of weeks, the budget will be getting the most attention, with some contention over Medicaid expansion, school building aid, charter schools, and personnel cuts. Other bills to watch for include medical marijuana and voter ID. US Senator Kelly Ayotte announces she supports a bipartisan immigration bill.

The NH Senate will be voting on its budget this Thursday; their plan calls for $10.7 billion in spending over two years, coming just under the House's budget, which calls for $11b, but doing it with large policy differences. One of those differences is Medicaid expansion, which the Governor and House favor. Looking forward to the 2014 US Senate election, in which incumbent Jeanne Shaheen is expected to run for re-election, Jim Rubens has been added to the list of possible Republican contenders, along with Jeb Bradley, Frank Guinta, and Scott Brown.